UC-NRLF 


B   4  flCm  117 


INDIAN   NOTES 
MONOGRAPHS 

EDITED  BY  F.  W.  HODGE 


A  SERIES  OF  PUBLICA- 
TIONS RELATING  TO  THE 
AMERICAN  ABORIGINES 


SLATE    MIRRORS    OF    THE 
TSIMSHIAN 


GEORGE  T.   EMMONS 


NEW   YORK 

MUSEUM   OF   THE  AMERICAN   INDIAN 

HEYE  FOUNDATION 

1921 


THIS  series  of  INDIAN  NOTES  AND 
MONOGRAPHS  is  devoted  primarily  to 
the  publication  of  the  results  of  studies 
by  members  of  the  staff  of  the  Mus- 
eum of  the  American  Indian,  Heye 
Foundation,  and  is  uniform  with  HIS- 
PANIC NOTES  AND  MONOGRAPHS,  pub- 
lished by  the  Hispanic  Society  of 
America,  with  which  organization  this 
Museum  is  in  cordial  cooperation. 

Only  the  first  ten  volumes  of  INDIAN 
NOTES  AND  MONOGRAPHS  are  numbered. 
The  unnumbered  parts  may  readily  be 
determined  by  consulting  the  List  of 
Publications  issued  as  one  of  the  series. 


EMMONS SLATE  MIRRORS 


MIRROR  OF  HOMOGENEOUS  GRAY-BLACK   SLATE.      LENGTH,   5^8   IN. 
Courtesy  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 


INDIAN   NOTES 
AND   MONOGRAPHS 

EDITED  BY  F.  W.  HODGE 


A  SERIES  OF  PUBLICA- 
TIONS RELATING  TO  THE 
AMERICAN  ABORIGINES 


. 

SLATE    MIRRORS    OF    THE 
TSIMSHIAN/ 


GEORGE   T.    EMMONS 


NEW   YORK 

MUSEUM    OF   THE   AMERICAN    INDIAN 

HEYE  FOUNDATION 

1921 


Univ.  Library,  Univ.  Cottt..  bont*  Cruf 


SLATE    MIRRORS    OF    THE 

TSIMSHIAN 


BY 

GEORGE   T.    EMMONS 


5 

SLATE  MIRRORS  OF  THE 
TSIMSHIAN 

BY  GEORGE  T.  EMMONS, 

Lieutenant,  U.  S.  Navy 

[^•jrHi  HE    peculiar    physical    features 
K/L^       of    the     Northwest    coast    of 
1  (j(MN         America,   its  ragged   shoreline 

cut    by    deep    fiords    and    in- 
numerable bays,  and  flanked  to  seaward 
by  a  continuous   breakwater  of  islands, 
offered    protection    and    exceptional    ad- 
vantages   to    travel    by    canoe    through 
thousands  of  miles  of  navigable  channels, 
thus  bringing    together  distant    peoples. 
This  resulted  in  a  general  interchange  of 
ideas  and   products,   and   ultimately  de- 
veloped   a    distinct    cultural    area    very 
different  from  any  other  on  the  continent. 
But      notwithstanding      this      intimacy 
through    intermarriage    and    trade    rela- 
tions,   each    people    retained    its    tribal 

INDIAN    NOTES 

SLATE  MIRRORS 


entity  and  excelled  in  certain  arts  and 
industries.  Such  might  be  the  result  of 
natural  resources,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Haida  war  and  traveling  canoe  fashioned 
from  the  giant  red  cedar  of  the  Queen 
Charlotte  islands,  or  of  artistic  sense  and 
skill,  as  shown  by  the  same  people  in  the 
carved  spoons,  ladles,  and  dishes  made 
from  the  horn  of  the  mountain  goat  and 
sheep,  which  they  procured  in  trade 
with  the  mainland  natives.  Again,  while 
spruce  is  equally  abundant  throughout 
the  coast  region,  no  other  tribe  ap- 
proached the  northern  Tlingit  in  the 
weaving  and  ornamentation  of  basketry 
made  from  its  roots.  Furthermore,  the 
transfer  of  an  industry  is  seen  in  the  so- 
called  Chilkat  blanket  that  originated 
among  the  Tcimshian,  but  in  the  course 
of  time  was  lost  to  them  and  is  perpetu- 
ated by  the  Chilkat  Tlingit,  four  hun- 
dred miles  distant. 

But  of  particular  interest  are  those  arts 
or.  products  that  never  passed  beyond 
tribal  limits,  being  confined  to  narrow 
districts.  Of  this  class  the  stone  mirror 


INDIAN    NOTES 


TSIMSHIAN   ORIGIN 


is  a  notable  example:  it  was  the  product  of 
the  Tsimshian,  and  if  known  to  their 
neighbors  of  the  coast,  the  Tlingit, 
Haida,  and  Kwakiutl,  it  was  never  used 
by  them,  and  is  not  represented  in  any 
of  the  very  complete  collections  gathered 
among  them,  nor  mentioned  in  the  writ- 
ings of  any  collector. 

The  Tsimshian  as  a  whole  are  made  up 
of  several  different  people  from  both  the 
interior  and  the  coast,  that  have  come 
together  through  intermarriage,  migra- 
tion, or  accident,  and  in  time  have  been 
welded  together  in  a  homogeneous  body. 
They  occupy  the  extreme  northwest 
coast  of  British  Columbia,  the  adjacent 
islands,  and  the  valleys  of  the  Skeena 
and  the  Nass.  They  comprise  three 
dialectic  divisions,  made  up  of  village 
bands,  tribal  as  to  territory,  which  is 
divided  among  the  various  clans,  each 
of  which  is  independent  under  its  own 
chief.  Hence  there  is  no  centralized 
governing  power  in  either  tribe  or  village. 

Those  known  specifically  as  Tsimshian 
live  directly  on  the  seaboard  and  claim 


AND    MONOGRAPHS 


SLATE    MIRRORS 


the  lower  waters  of  the  Skeena  as  their 
fishing  rights.  Their  principal  winter 
habitation  was  at  Metlakahtla  until 
r835,  when  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
established  a  post  at  Port  Simpson, 
where  the  majority  of  the  people  moved, 
and  it  thus  became  the  central  trading 
point  on  the  northern  coast,  to  which  all 
the  different  tribes  flocked;  this  brought 
prestige  and  wealth  to  the  residents,  and 
they  became  the  most  progressive  and 
important  of  the  three  divisions. 

The  Nishka  people  occupy  the  valley 
of  the  Nass  and  form  a  link  between  the 
coast  and  the  interior.  While  possibly 
less  advanced  than  the  Tsimshian  of 
the  coast,  they  are  equally  intelligent, 
and  are  artistic  in'  a  high  degree.  In 
fact,  I  think  that  the  most  delicate  and 
pleasing  examples  of  carving  and  painting 
gathered  throughout  the  whole  extent  of 
the  coast  are  from  this  people. 

The  Kitikshan  ("  people  of  the  Shian 
or  Skeena"),  who  claim  the  Skeena  river 
as  their  own,  are  the  original  stock  from 
which  the  other  two  Tsimshian  branches 


INDIAN    NOTES 


EMMONS SLATE  MIRRORS 


PART  OF  A  CARVED   MIRROR  OF  HOMOGENEOUS   GRAY-BLACK   SLATE. 

MAXIMUM  WIDTH,  2%   IN. 
Courtesy  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 


TRIBAL   DIVISIONS 


came;  they  are  scattered  along  the  upper 
reaches  of  the  river  and  its  tributaries. 
The  Kitikshan  are  the  most  primitive 
division  of  the  three,  and  from  their 
necessities  and  the  character  of  their 
country  are  more  hunters  and  trailers 
than  water  men,  although  they  look  to 
the  river  for  their  staple  food-supply  of 
salmon. 

The  stone  mirror  was  common  to  all 
the  divisions  of  the  Tsimshian,  and  I 
found  one  specimen  among  their  Atha- 
pascan neighbors,  the  Babine.  Up  to  the 
present,  after  diligent  search,  only  nine 
specimens  have  been  located  in  either 
museums  or  private  collections.  None 
remain  in  possession  of  the  people, 
although  old  houses  and  village-sites 
may  yet  yield  a  few.  That  so  few  of 
these  objects  survive  a  century  of  disuse 
is  not  surprising,  when  the  fragile  material 
and  their  delicate  proportions  are  con- 
sidered; for  when  the  early  European 
traders  reached  this  coast,  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  they 
distributed  and  traded  unlimited  numbers 


AND    MONOGRAPHS 


10 


SLATE    MIRRORS 


of  small  looking-glasses,  which  were  so 
much  more  practical  and  so  inexpensive 
that  the  native  ones  of  stone  were  at 
once  discarded. 

The  Nishka  claim  to  have  been  the 
originators  of  the  mirror  in  this  region. 
They  fashioned  it  from  a  homogeneous, 
grayish-black  slate  found  in  a  ledge  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Nass,  across  from 
the  old  village  of  Kitaix,  flushing  the 
rock  with  water  to  procure  pieces  of 
suitable  size  for  working.  It  is  a  fact 
that  specimens  found  among  the  Nishka 
and  the  coast  Tsimshian  seem  to  be  of 
like  material  and  are  similar  in  form,  thus 
tending  to  substantiate  the  Nishka 
claim.  The  mirrors  found  on  the  upper 
Skeena  are  of  a  much  harder,  blacker 
stone,  and  somewhat  different  in  shape, 
while  the  one  from  the  Babine  of  Bulkley 
river  is  unlike  any  other  in  either  material 
or  form. 

The  mirror  was  the  property  of  the 
women  of  the  higher  class,  and  was  worn 
suspended  around  the  neck  by  a  cord  of 
hide  or  of  twisted  root,  hanging  over  the 


INDIAN    NOTES 


u 

CQ 


NISHKA  CLAIM 


breast.  When  required  for  use,  it  was 
wetted  (most  conveniently  licked  or 
spit  upon)  and  rubbed  over,  then  held  at 
such  an  angle  to  the  light  as  was  most 
favorable  for  reflection.  If  required  for 
a  comparatively  long  period,  it  was 
rubbed  over  with  a  thin  coat  of  grease  or 
oil.  The  usual  form  had  a  handle  at 
the  narrower  end,  *  a  contracted  neck 
curved  or  notched,  around  which  the 
neck-cord .  passed,  and  an  expanded 
reflecting  surface.  Some  were  double, 
that  is,  polished  on  both  faces;  others 
were  incised  or  carved  on  one  side,  and 
notched  along  the  upper  or  lower  edges. 
Whether  these  marks  were  decorative 
in  character  or  were  designed  for  identi- 
fication is  not  known,  but  certainly  the 
work  on  the  one  illustrated  in  pi.  II  is 
ornamental  in  a  high  degree. 

A  comparison  of  all  the  known  speci- 
mens shows  the  material  to  be  of  slate 
and  exhibits  general  uniformity  in  shape, 
the  most  noticeable  differences  being  in 
the  handle  and  the  connecting  neck. 

The     five     specimens     (pi.     i-v     and 


AND    MONOGRAPHS 


12 


SLATE    MIRRORS 


fig.  I,  2)  obtained  among  the  coast 
Tsimshian  and  the  Nishka  are  of  the 
same  grayish-black  slate.  PI.  i  and 


FIG.  i. — Outline  of  a  slate  mirror  in  the  collection  of 
Dr  R.  W.  Large,  Port  Simpson,  B.  C.  (Length, 
4|  in.;  maximum  widtn,  3j  in.) 

fig.  I  show  mirrors  with  plain  faces; 
they  are  almost  exactly  alike  in  size  and 
outline,  and  both  are  notched  at  top  and 


INDIAN   NOTES 


FORM   AND   MATERIAL 

13 

bottom.     Those  illustrated  in  pi.  in  and 
fig.  2  have  straight  sides,  and  the  former 

\      ] 

u  / 

FIG.  2.  —  Out 
district,  in  the 
W.  H.  Collison 

a   longer    h 
lines  or  cro 
The     mi 

)  ( 

L==/ 

\.  -  ~^y 

line  of  a  slate  mirror  from  Nass  River 
collection  of  the  Venerable  Archdeacon 
of  Nass  Harbor,  B.  C.  (Length,  5  in.) 

andle;    both   are   scored    with 
ss-lines  on  the  back, 
rror     represented     in     pi.     n, 

AND    MONOGRAPHS 

14 


SLATE    MIRRORS 


which  was  procured,  with  the  one  shown 
in  pi.  I,  from  a  Tsimshian  who  knew  only 
that  it  had  been  found  about  the  Nass, 
is  unfortunately  broken,  but  it  shows 
the  back  of  the  reflecting  surface  elabor- 
ately carved  in  low  relief.  The  principal 
design  represents  a  crude  face,  more 
human  than  animal,  which,  bisected, 
exhibits  two  profiles  difficult  to  determine. 
Below  are  three  parallel  divisions  of  lines 
and  cross-lines.  Ornamentation  of  pre- 
cisely this  character  is  commonly  found 
incised  on  the  hunting  and  trapping 
implements  of  bone  employed  by  the 
Tahltan  and  the  Babine,  with  whom  the 
Nishka  living  farther  inland  come  in 
contact;  it  bears  no  resemblance  to  the 
delicate  technic  of  Nishka  art  of  the  last 
hundred  years,  as  known  to  us  from  their 
artifacts  of  wood,  bone,  and  ivory,  but  it 
might  express  the  work  of  a  much  earlier 
period  in  the  life  of  this  people  when  some 
of  the  divisions  that  claim  an  inland  origin 
still  retained  the  practice  of  their  ances- 
tors and  had  not  yet  adopted  the  culture 
of  the  coast  tribes. 


INDIAN    NOTES 


EMMONS SLATE  MIRRORS 


SLATE   MIRROR   FROM   UPPER   SKEENA   RIVER 
Courtesy  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Harvard  University.    Length,  7^  in. 


FORM   AND   MATERIAL 


The  two  mirrors  from  the  Kitikshan 
of  the  upper  Skeena  are  of  a  hard,  black 
slate,  quite  different  from  that  of  the 
Nishka  specimens.  PI.  iv  exhibits  one 
which,  in  size  and  shape,  is  similar 
to  the  mirrors  of  the  Nishka,  but  the 
upper  and  lower  edges  are  curved,  a 
difference  noticeable  in  all  the  specimens 
from  the  interior.  It  is  polished  on 
both  faces,  incised  with  cross-lines  on 
one  side  of  the  handle,  and  notched  along 
the  upper  edge. 

PI.  v  represents  what  is  possibly  the 
most  interesting  mirror  of  all,  by  reason 
of  its  symmetry  and  its  peculiarly  notched 
neck,  together  with  the  slight  history 
associated  with  it.  It  was  the  property 
of  an  old  shaman  originally  of  the  Kuldo 
band,  but  who,  after  this  (the  farthest 
inland  of  all  the  Skeena  villages)  had 
been  abandoned,  settled  at  Kispiox.  He 
said  that  the  mirror  had  been  dug  up  on 
the  old  village-site  and  handed  down 
through  generations  in  his  family.  At 
that  time  nothing  could  induce  him  to 
part  with  it,  and  it  was  only  in  later 


AND    MONOGRAPHS 


16 


SLATE    MIRRORS 


FIG.  3. — Outline  of  a  mirror  of  slate,  without  grain, 
from  the  Babine  village  of  Hawilget,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Bulkley  River  canon,  B.  C.  Provincial  Museum, 
Victoria.  (Length,  6f  in.;  width,  4.5  in.;  thickness, 


INDIAN    NOTES 


USE   AMONG   BABINE 


years,  when  it  had  descended  to  a 
younger  generation,  which  thinks  little 
of  the  past,  that  it  was  procured. 

The  mirror  illustrated  in  fig.  3  was 
obtained  from  an  older  woman  of  the 
Babine  living  at  Hawilget,  on  Bulkley 
river,  near  its  mouth.  There  is  no  known 
history  connected  with  it,  except  that 
it  was  an  old  family  piece  and  had  been 
preserved,  as  such  things  useless  in 
themselves  are  treasured,  for  sentimental 
reasons  by  primitive  peoples.  It  is 
quite  different  from  any  Tsimshian 
specimen,  being  of  brownish  slate,  and 
larger  and  heavier,  as  it  is  at  least  half 
an  inch  in  thickness.  Both  ends,  more- 
over, are  noticeably  rounded,  and  the 
upper  edge  is  scalloped.  The  handle 
and  the  reflecting  surface  are  barely 
separated  from  each  other  by  a  very 
slight  notch  for  the  neck-cord. 

For  information  respecting  mirrors 
among  the  Dene,  I  wrote  to  Father 
A.  G.  Morice,  whose  intimate  study  of 
this  people  is  so  well  known.  He 
courteously  replied  at  some  length  that 


AND    MONOGRAPHS 


18 

SLATE    MIRRORS 

the   stone    mirror   was   unknown   among 

the  Athapascan  tribes  of  the  far  north  and 

that  he  had  never  seen  a  specimen  among 

them.     Father  Morice  states: 

"Further,   the   age   of  such  articles,    I   mean 

their   antiquity,    the   time   they   came   into   use 

among  them,  is  usually  predicated  by  the  kind 

of   noun    (primary   or  secondary   root,   common 

substantive  or  verbal  noun)  by  which  they  are 

called.     Now,  the  Carriers  call  a  mirror  pe-na'- 

tsOndO-nBl'en,  which  is  merely  a  verb  in  the  im- 

personal to  which  is  prefixed  the  preposition  pe, 

resulting  in  a  verbal  noun  which  means  '  whereby 

one  looks  at  one's  self.'     This  characterizes  such 

household  and  other  implements  as  are  adven- 

titious among  them." 

The  finding  of  a  single  specimen  among 

the  Babine  is  not  significant.       Hawilget 

was   originally    Kitikshan   territory,    and 

was   given    to    the    Babine   only   after   a 

great    rock-slide    in    the    canon    of    the 

Bulkley    had    so   obstructed    the    stream 

that    the    salmon    could    not    reach    the 

valley     beyond,     thus     cutting     off     the 

staple    food    of    the    former    inhabitants. 

In  settling  at  this  point,  only  four  miles 

from     Hazelton,     the     Babine     came    in 

INDIAN    NOTES 

EMMONS SLATE  MIRRORS 


SLATE   MIRROR   DUG   FROM   THE   DESERTED  VILLAGE  OF   KULDO, 
UPPER   SKEENA   RIVER,   B.  C. 

In  the  Museum  of  the  American  Indian,  Heye  Foundation. 
Length,  5%  in. 


USE  AMONG  SALISH 

19 

constant  intercourse  with  the  Kitikshan, 

and  being  a  crude  people,  copied  much 

from  their  neighbors.     This  might  readily 

account    for    this    piece    being    in    their 

possession  —  made    by    them    or    possibly 

dug  up  in  gardening,  as  this  locality  has 

furnished  some  of  the  most  remarkable 

and  beautifully  carved  stone  clubs   that 

have     been     found     in     the     Northwest. 

Mr     J.     A.    Teit,    of    Spences     Bridge, 

British  Columbia,  writes  me  as  follows  in 

answer    to    an    inquiry    regarding    this 

article  among  the  Salish: 

"The  only  direct  information  I   have  is  from 

the   Thompson   [Indians],   who  claim   that   long 

ago,  stone,  generally  of  a  very  dark  color,  was 

occasionally    made    into    or    used    as    looking- 

glasses  by  them;  they  say  the  stone  was  rare 

and  seldom  to  be  found.     It  took  a  very  high 

polish,   and   fragments    used   for  .looking-glasses 

were  generally  small  (about  4  inches  in  width  or 

height)  and  thin.     Some  of  them  were  bored  for 

suspension.     I    have    never    seen    any    myself. 

The  Thompson  and  other  interior  Salish  tribes 

also  used   looking-glasses   made  of   mica,   which 

mineral  can   be  found   in   large   clear   sheets  in 

some  places.     It  seems  these  were  comparatively 

common,    whilst    stone    ones    were    very    rare. 

AND    MONOGRAPHS 

20 

SLATE    MIRRORS 

The    remaining    living    old    men    here    (Spences 

Bridge)  can  give  me  no  further  light  on  the  stone 

mirrors,  except  to  say  they  were  oblong  in  shape, 

thin,  and  about  four  inches  in  length;  some  were 

perforated    or    notched    at    one    end    like    some 

sap-scrapers.     They   were    very   rare    and    none 

of  the   three   men   I   lately  interviewed   remem- 

bered  having   seen  any.     Those  they  had  heard 

of  belonged  to  old  men  of  Lytton  or  the  neigh- 

boring part  of  Fraser  river  above." 

From  these  general  notes,  particularly 

from   mention  of   the   shape  of  the  sap- 

scraper,   the  material,   and   the  size,   the 

suggestion     arises    whether    this    article 

might    not    have    originated    hereabouts 

and     have    been    carried    to    the    coast 

through  emigration  or  have  been  brought 

thither  in   trade   by   the   more   northerly 

interior  tribes. 

The   stone   mirror  is  variously   named 

among    the    Tsimshian    and    neighboring 

people,  as  noted  belov/: 

Tsimshian:  nicks-klu-nesk    gum    tzcl,    'reflection 

of  face,'  also  dza  gdt,  'shaped  like  a 

fish-  tail.' 

Nishka:         na  haun,  indicating  the  shining  skin 

of  a  fresh  salmon,  from  na,  a  prefix 

indicating    the    properties    of;    haun, 

INDIAN    NOTES 

NATIV  E   TERMS 

21 

'salmon'    referring    to    its    reflective 

quality. 

Kitikshan: 

an-gux  lu  la  gal  tku,   'in  which   to 

examine  yourself.' 

A    mirror    of    any    kind    is    variously 

known  as 

— 

Babine  : 

pe-na'    tsOndO-ndl'en,    'whereby    one 

looks  at  one's  self.' 

Haida: 

hung  jow,  'reflection.' 

Tlingit: 

a  tu  nuch  ga  teen,  'casting  reflections.' 

The  Tlingit,  however,  knew  nothing 

of  the  stone  mirror  and  had  no  other 

means  of  examining  themselves  than 

in  a  pool  of  still  water,  until  trade 

mirrors  were  introduced. 

AN 

D    MONOGRAPHS 

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